What is podcasting?

Podcasting makes an audio file, typically in MP3 format, available online for downloading via an automatic "feed." You can then hear the podcast whenever you want from your computer or portable media player. If you have a computer and an Internet connection, you can download podcasts. In many ways, podcasting is to radio what TiVo is to television – except that podcasting is free!

How much does it cost to use these podcasts?

What do I need to hear podcasts?

The first thing you need is podcast subscription software. Your options include the latest version of Apple's iTunes (which has the software built in), or other services such as Juice to manage your podcast subscriptions. At this point, you will already be able to listen to podcast audio from your computer (provided your computer has a sound card and can play MP3 audio files). If you want to make your podcasts portable, you will need to transfer them from your computer to a portable media device, such as an iPod.

How do I subscribe to a podcast?

To subscribe to a podcast listed in the directory, click on its name to view a brief description and subscription instructions.

You may subscribe to many podcasts by clicking the buttons for popular tools like iTunes and My Yahoo!

If you don't see a button for your preferred tool, simply highlight the URL in the box next to the orange [POD] icon . Right-click this link (or Control-click in MacOS) and select "Copy" or "Copy Shortcut." You may then paste the link into your podcasting software. In iTunes you can find this option under the "Advanced" menu as "Subscribe to podcast."

I subscribed to a podcast. Why don’t I hear anything?

Make sure that you have audio player software that supports podcasts. iTunes is the most commonly used qualifying application.

Verify that the correct audio file was downloaded to your computer. You may need to modify the update settings in your podcasting software to ensure that this process occurs automatically.

Check the update times in the website description and make sure that a new edition should have been posted. If there is no audio file, and the feed time has passed, please contact NPR's Help Center.